Validation 2.

Natural Convection in an Annulus

2.1 Introduction
Kuehn and Goldstein 1,2 have conducted an experimental study of natural convection in a cylinder annulus, using both concentric and eccentric con gurations. Their results serve as a good benchmark for the natural convection heat transfer modeling capabilities of FLUENT in a situation where body- tted curvilinear grids are needed. In this study two con gurations are examined: one in which the inner cylinder is displaced downwards and one in which the inner and outer cylinders are concentric.

2.2 Purpose
The purpose of this test is to compare the numerical prediction of temperature pro les along the symmetry lines with the experimental results of Kuehn and Goldstein 1,2 for the eccentric and concentric case. The test also compares the numerically predicted heat ux from the surface of the inner and outer cylinders for the eccentric and concentric cases with the experimental results.

2.3 Problem Description

A heated cylinder is placed inside another cylinder, trapping air in the resulting annular cavity. The inner cylinder is placed in two con gurations, one in which the cylinders are concentric and the other in which the inner cylinder is displaced downwards. As the inner cylinder is hotter than the outer, a buoyancy-induced ow results and natural convection occurs. Only half of the domain needs to be modeled from symmetry considerations.

2.3.1 Geometry
The radii of the outer and inner cylinders, respectively, are 46.3 mm and 17.8 mm. For the eccentric annulus case the eccentricity is = ,0:6245, which is very close to the value of ,0:623 reported in the experiment. The eccentricity is the measure of the distance the inner cylinder is moved from the concentric position and is de ned as see Figure 2.1

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Natural Convection in an Annulus

R
0

D 0 Ti D
i

x y

Figure 2.1: Problem Description = v =L where

v

2:1

L Do Di

= the distance along the vertical axis the inner cylinder is moved from the concentric position negative downwards = ,17:8 mm D = D, 2 = 28.5 mm = the diameter of the outer cylinder = 92.6 mm = the diameter of the inner cylinder = 35.6 mm
o i

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2.4 Grid 2.3.2 Fluid Properties

The properties of air, except density, are assumed constant and are taken to be the values at the mean temperature 350 K. They are shown in Table 2.1. Table 2.1: Fluid Properties Density, Viscosity,  Thermal Conductivity, k Speci c Heat, cp Molecular Weight gas law 2.081 10,5 Pa-s 0.02967 W m-K 1008 J kg-K 28.966

2.3.3 Flow Physics

T L = 4:95  104 is based on the radius The Rayleigh number Ra = g  di erence. The thermal coe cient of volumetric expansion and the density are evaluated at 350 K for the purpose of the Ra calculation. The Prandtl number P r = ck = 0:707. The body force in the negative y direction is g = 9:81 m s2 .
3

2.3.4 Boundary Conditions

The inner cylinder wall is set to a temperature Ti of 373 K and the outer cylinder wall to To = 327 K. The walls are stationary no slip.

2.4 Grid

A 60  20 non-uniform interpolated grid was generated for each case, as shown in Figures 2.2 and 2.3. Weighting factors were used to attract the grid toward the walls. The FLUENT case les were set up for the eccentric and concentric cases of this natural convection problem using the wall boundary conditions and uid properties described in Section 2.3.

2.5 Case Setup

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Natural Convection in an Annulus

Natural Convection in an Eccentric Annulus Grid

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.2: Grid for Eccentric Annulus

Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus Grid

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.3: Grid for Concentric Annulus

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2.6 Calculation

2.6 Calculation
Temperature was initialized to the mean value of 350 K. Both concentric and eccentric annulus problems were run using the secondorder discretization scheme, because natural convection produces large eddies that are not aligned with the grids. PRESTO! is enabled for the pressure discretization. It is designed for problems involving large body forces and high pressure gradients, such as high-Rayleighnumber convection and ows in strongly curved domains. In this problem, the Rayleigh number is 4:95  104. The implicit body force treatment is a special procedure for problems with strong body forces, such as gravity forces in natural convection applications. This special treatment is used for both calculations. The SIMPLEC algorithm is used for the pressure-velocity coupling. This scheme is generally chosen to compute relatively uncomplicated problems laminar ows with no additional models activated in which convergence is limited by the pressure-velocity coupling.

2.7 Results
Contours of stream function and temperature for the eccentric case are shown in Figures 2.4 and 2.5. Large velocity and temperature gradients exist in the vicinity of the hot and cold walls. The temperature and ow eld results are in excellent qualitative agreement with the results of Kuehn and Goldstein 1,2 . Two large eddies are set up in the buoyancy-driven ow and the temperature eld shows e ects of strati cation. The contours of stream function and temperature for the concentric case are shown in Figures 2.6 and 2.7. A ow pattern similar to the eccentric case is observed, although the strength of the circulation is weaker due to the smaller space available for the thermal plume to form above the cylinder. The temperature eld shows larger strati cation e ects. Again, the temperature and ow elds are in excellent agreement with those in Kuehn and Goldstein 1,2 . The temperature pro les along the symmetry lines for the eccentric and concentric cases are compared to the experimental data of Kuehn and Goldstein 1,2 in Figures 2.8 2.11. The agreement between the FLUENT predictions and the experimental data is very good. The heat ux from the inner and outer cylinder surfaces for the eccentric and concentric cases is compared with the experimental data in Figures 2.12 2.15. FLUENT predictions of heat ux agree well with the benchmark experimental
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results, except for the outer wall heat ux prediction of the eccentric annulus. The relatively high grid skewness near the outer wall could be a possible reason for this marked deviation from the experimental data.

2.8 Conclusion
The natural convection modeling capability of FLUENT has been validated against a benchmark result for natural convection in a horizontal cylinder annulus. The predictions of temperature and heat uxes are in very good agreement with the benchmark.

2.9 References

1. Kuehn, T.H. and Goldstein, R.J., An Experimental Study of Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Concentric and Eccentric Horizontal Cylindrical Annuli, Journal of Heat Transfer, 100:635 640, 1978. 2. Kuehn, T.H. and Goldstein, R.J., An Experimental and Theoretical Study of Natural Convection in the Annulus Between Horizontal Concentric Cylinders, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 74:695 719, 1976.

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2.9 References

1.14e-03 1.03e-03 9.14e-04 8.00e-04 6.86e-04 5.71e-04 4.57e-04 3.43e-04 2.29e-04 1.14e-04 0.00e+00 Natural Convection in an Eccentric Annulus Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.4: Contours of Stream Function Eccentric Case

3.73e+02 3.68e+02 3.64e+02 3.59e+02 3.55e+02 3.50e+02 3.45e+02 3.41e+02 3.36e+02 3.32e+02 3.27e+02 Natural Convection in an Eccentric Annulus Contours of Static Temperature (k) Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.5: Contours of Temperature Eccentric Case

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7.08e-04 6.37e-04 5.66e-04 4.96e-04 4.25e-04 3.54e-04 2.83e-04 2.12e-04 1.42e-04 7.08e-05 0.00e+00 Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) Dec 17, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.6: Contours of Stream Function Concentric Case

3.73e+02 3.68e+02 3.64e+02 3.59e+02 3.55e+02 3.50e+02 3.45e+02 3.41e+02 3.36e+02 3.32e+02 3.27e+02 Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus Contours of Static Temperature (k) Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.7: Contours of Temperature Concentric Case

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2.9 References
symmetry-6 Experiment
3.75e+02 3.70e+02 3.65e+02 3.60e+02 3.55e+02

Static Temperature at Bottom Symmetry (k)

3.50e+02 3.45e+02 3.40e+02 3.35e+02 3.30e+02 3.25e+02 -48 -46 -44 -42 -40 -38 -36 -34

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in an Eccentric Annulus Static Temperature

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.8: Temperature Pro le Along the Bottom Symmetry Line for Eccentric Case
symmetry-5 Experiment
3.75e+02 3.70e+02 3.65e+02 3.60e+02 3.55e+02

Static Temperature at Top Symmetry (k)

3.50e+02 3.45e+02 3.40e+02 3.35e+02 3.30e+02 3.25e+02 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in an Eccentric Annulus Static Temperature

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.9: Temperature Pro le Along the Top Symmetry Line for Eccentric Case
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Natural Convection in an Annulus

symmetry-5 Exp.Bottom Sy
3.75e+02 3.70e+02 3.65e+02 3.60e+02 3.55e+02

Static Temperature (Bottom Symmetry) (k)

3.50e+02 3.45e+02 3.40e+02 3.35e+02 3.30e+02 3.25e+02 -50 -45 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus Static Temperature

Jan 11, 1999 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.10: Temperature Pro le Along the Bottom Symmetry Line for Concentric Case
symmetry-5 Exp.Top Symm
3.75e+02 3.70e+02 3.65e+02 3.60e+02 3.55e+02

Static Temperature (Top Symmetry) (k)

3.50e+02 3.45e+02 3.40e+02 3.35e+02 3.30e+02 3.25e+02 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus Static Temperature

Jan 11, 1999 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.11: Temperature Pro le Along the Top Symmetry Line for Concentric Case

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2.9 References
wall-3 Experiment
0.00e+00

-5.00e+01

-1.00e+02

-1.50e+02

Surface Heat Flux at Outer Wall (w/m2)

-2.00e+02

-2.50e+02

-3.00e+02

-3.50e+02 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in an Eccentric Annulus Surface Heat Flux

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.12: Comparison of Heat Flux from the Outer Cylinder Surface for the Eccentric Case
wall-4 Experiment
3.50e+02

3.00e+02

2.50e+02

Surface Heat Flux at Inner Wall (w/m2)

2.00e+02

1.50e+02

1.00e+02

5.00e+01 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in an Eccentric Annulus Surface Heat Flux

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.13: Comparison of Heat Flux from the Inner Cylinder Surface for the Eccentric Case
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wall-4 Experiment
0.00e+00

-5.00e+01

-1.00e+02

-1.50e+02

Surface Heat Flux from Outer Cylinder (w/m2)

-2.00e+02

-2.50e+02

-3.00e+02

-3.50e+02 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus Surface Heat Flux

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.14: Comparison of Heat Flux from the Outer Cylinder Surface for the Concentric Case
wall-3 Experiment
3.50e+02

3.00e+02

2.50e+02

2.00e+02

Surface Heat Flux from Inner Cylinder (w/m2)

1.50e+02

1.00e+02

5.00e+01

0.00e+00 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20

Position (mm)

Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus Surface Heat Flux

Dec 16, 1998 FLUENT 5.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 2.15: Comparison of Heat Flux from the Inner Cylinder Surface for the Concentric Case

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2.10 Test Details

2.10 Test Details

Test Date: Solver: Version: Platform: Case Files: Journal Files: Data Files: Monitor Files: Experimental Data Files:

November 4, 1998
FLUENT

5.0 Sun Ultra

concn.cas ecc.cas concn r1.jou ecc r2.jou concn r1.dat ecc r2.dat tot temp1.mon tot temp2.mon concn bot.exp concn in.exp concn out.exp concn top.exp ecc bot.exp ecc in.exp ecc out.exp ecc top.exp

The les associated with this validation are arranged as follows. The FLUENT case les are in the top-level ecc directory. FLUENT journal les to run the cases are in the subdirectory ecc run. The data les generated at Fluent Inc. are stored in the subdirectory ecc run out.Fluent.Inc. If you wish to rerun this validation example automatically on your own platform, please follow these steps: 1. Change directories to the ecc run subdirectory. 2. Create a subdirectory called out. The journal les will save the data le from each run to this subdirectory and not overwrite the data les supplied on your distribution CD-ROM or tape, which are in the out.Fluent.Inc subdirectory. The journal le will not function unless this subdirectory exists. 3. Start the 2D version of FLUENT. 4. Read the journal les  rst for run 1, then run 2, etc.. The FLUENT journal le will: 1. Read the case le.
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2. 3. 4. 5. Adjust solution control parameters. Calculate. Write data and monitor les to the out subdirectory. Quit from FLUENT.

You can then restart FLUENT, read in the case and data les, examine the results, and compare them with the experimental pro les from the run exp subdirectory as shown in this report. When carrying out any comparison, bear in mind that minor di erences in numerics from platform to platform are quite common. Typically, such differences a ect the residual and variable histories, but do not a ect the nal, converged result.

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